. >> that is a bad strategy for america. it's a bad strategy for your businesses. and it is not a game that i will play. >> reporter: republicans are pushing back. >> he's the president, not the emperorer. >> reporter: fiscal cliff negotiations have been at a stand still since monday when republicans proposed raising revenue by closing tax loopholes, not by raising rates on the rich as the president has insisted. >> we're not insisting rates just out of spite, but rather because we need to raise a certain amount of revenue. >> we can't just keep borrowing money, raising taxes, and expecting the problem to go away. >> reporter: house members headed home for a long weekend with democrats so far unsuccessful in their efforts to force a vote on a bill that would extend tax cuts to 98% of americans. but house speaker john boehner said he's here, and all ears. >> i'll be available at any moment to sit down with the president if he gets serious about solving this problem. >> reporter: 26 days out, and the waiting continues. with no deal in sight, the white house budget of